Propaganda 2.0

Posted on May 27, 2009

Sure, Obama and McCain (well, actually their staffs) joined micro-blogging site Twitter for propaganda purposes. But now the nuke-happy and secretive North Koreans are getting in on the Web 2.0 revolution, offering an interesting state-controlled glimpse into the isolated country.

The Guardian:

North Korea is renowned for many things—not least surprise nuclear tests—but it can hardly claim to be at the forefront of the information technology revolution.

While the country’s leader, Kim Jong-il, boasts of being a whiz on the web, internet access is otherwise all but unknown in a country where the state keeps the tightest of grips on the flow of information. Pyongyang, the capital, has a couple of—heavily monitored—internet cafes, while North Korea’s recently allocated .kp country code only came into existence in 2007.

It thus comes as a slight surprise to browse Twitter and find a feed from the country’s state press organisation, the Korean Central News Agency.